Gifts from Nature provides more than one hundred inspiring home-decorating projects, gift ideas, and festive holiday designs that embody and enhance the unspoiled beauty of nature.Each section highlights one of the four seasons and contains information and ideas to help you get the most from every time of year. Learn how to gather branches for forcing and make an Easter garland from dyed eggs in the spring. For the summer, Matthew explains how to keep cut flowers fresh and reveals which found beach treasures create a beautiful mantelscape. Autumn is the time to press leaves and use them for decorating tables and walls, and to bake a Wild Grape and Cranberry Cobbler. And winter is your opportunity to make a personalized wreath or stocking decorated with natural materials or to create homemade Christmas balls from small pinecones, acorns, or cranberries. Matthew Mead's love for nature is contagious, and he teaches you not only how to make beautiful natural craft projects for keeping or giving, but also how to appreciate nature, how to bring it indoors, and how to preserve it. Read Less